JAZZ ROCK/FUSION

NUCLEUS have been one of my fave bands for decades. Oddly, this album has escaped my attention for much of that time and I only managed to track it down in recent years. Perhaps there was a reason for that?

At this point, bandleader Ian Carr finds himself without a band as half of the previous members have defected to SOFT MACHINE. A leading British composer/musician. Carr had no problem with finding replacements. He is also very good at getting grants that help with getting over the odd glitch.

The release of this album was perhaps rushed as the end result appears to be somewhat underdeveloped. The musicianship is excellent - as always - but the compositions just don't stack up, lacking the collective input of a well established band.

It's more of a Carr solo project than NUCLEUS as we've known the band. The title "Labyrinth" is apt as the result appears to be directionless, A few steps this way, a few steps there, still searching for an exit.

Special mention is due to the featured singer, Norma Winstone, who has previously collaborated with Carr in 1969. Her beautiful and sensual voice is either overused here on a few tracks, or should have been a feature throughout the whole album.

Contrary to the talented musicians, this is the weakest album Carr has released. Thankfully, by the time he gets to the next work "Roots", we are back to more familiar territory that befits the band much more.

Oh yeah, better than Red Dwarf. This time, Head returns in a different way, more zippy and active. I will highlight John Davies, the multi-instrumentalist, playing and destroying the trumpet and keyboards. Sometimes, it reminds me of early King Crimson stuff. The general performance is very creative and great. My favorite song here is Kick Me Quick, maybe because of the dissonant trumpet improvisated solo, and of course, it have a hot blooded crazy swing. Trust me, you will not get wrong with this.

This is a modern Neo-Classical/Jazz symphony,split into 13 parts,creating a solid long piece with no actual empty holes.It starts off as a dissonant Classical piece with Gustavson's organ on the front,before transforming into a Symphonic/Jazz Rock opus with great work on flutes,horns and saxes,excellent guitar parts and Gustavson's jazzy piano performance.By the middle the album has already offered tons of light and accurate interplays,when Gustavson decides to make an almost KING CRIMSON-esque complex explosion.Unfortunately this great piece will lose much of what it really deserves,when entering the last part and the musicianship gets very funky and somewhat out of place.Soon though Juha Bjorninen will appear with an almost FOCUS jazzy soloing of high quality,Gustavson starts to dominate again with strong organ work and the wind section is back on fire for the nice ending,which features plenty of great breaks.

This modern symphony is actually a very good introduction to any fan of music to the progressive rock ideology.Additionally it comes as a great example of Jukka Gustavson's endless talent and strong composing skills,despite the few misplaced minutes.Warmly recommended...3.5 stars.

When I first heard "Quasar" (track no. 1), an atmoshperical intro piece, I went totally absorbed by these jazzheads.Smooth and deep, here the instruments are free to express what they want at any time, this is the essence of the jazz rock / fusion. I've been interested in "Event Horizon", since I have a song with the same name, and I was not disappointed, the song is softly beautiful. But the higher points here are Red Dwarf and Earthsong Suite (the longer track). About Red Dwarf (the song), the disharmonic intro really got me!!! And the song slowly open doors to a masterpiece, and the masterpiece cames.

I will recc this one to Caunterbury scene fans.

Many tracks feature just his piano and/or synths and some vocals: 'Tervetuloa-rag' (Welcome Rag) is a lively jazz piece for solo piano with his wife Leena repeating "tervetuloa" in the beginning. 'Song of the Secret Person of the Heart' is Jukka and keyboards only. The playful song itself is charming at first, but it continues too long without much change, so it begins to bore after repeated listenings. 'Varo - ihminen!' (Beware - human!) continues - far too long - in the same vein. It doesn't help that he changes into English midway. The closing track 'Everyday' adds nothing new really. All these compositions have a feeling of rehearsal (don't get me wrong: the playing is very skilful and also the sound quality is clean) and they would have improved a lot with fuller arrangements.

Completely English-language 'A Frozen Tear' is a hazy, slow track featuring also Pekka Nylund on electric guitar and Tom Nekljudow on drums. At once you hear the difference: it's free of the rehearsal impression of the forementioned tracks even if it has a sort of a wandering/wondering spirit.

'In Search of a Blue Root in the Acid Rain and the Low of a Cliché Thicket' is the oddity here. It's a collache of endlessly repeated and overlapping spoken (or loudly whispered) words such as a thicket and a quagmire and strange sound effects evoking the impression depicted in the long title. 'Palokärjen lento yli vuonon' (Woodpecker's flight over a fjord) is a romantic lied for high soprano voice, very sentimental and a bit over the top actually. Later it adds a spoken narrative in Italian by Giuseppina Mäkelä and some sound effects, ie. flapping of the wings and the bird's scream.

Bluesion is very interesting and charming work in its own way, but for the negative sides (too sparse instrumentation etc) it falls below three full stars.

It is sometimes reminiscent of Colosseum II when they delve slightly into jazz-rock, but by the end of it all I found that I was not only impressed but also bored. It is definitely a CD that can only be digested in small pieces; very much like a rich cake, they have over-egged it. Treat with care.

Originally appeared in Feedback #59

Ahhh, the swedish music. From Ace of Base to Entombed, from ABBA to Dan Swano projects, I love it. This is Ablution first and last. This isn't a miss. Otherwise, a great jazz/fusion full filled with good solos and a variety of instruments. Mainly Peter Robinson (later in Brand X) keyboards, are very pleasent for me. The violent flutist is very remarkable. From the first song, they show what they got, with awesome keys riffage, percurssion, guitar solo, flute, trumpet, all fused into a stylish rhythm. There is some avant gardish presence at this album, and some dissonant chords. This is the kind of music that if you press "play" you won't stop until it reaches the end.

It's hard for me to fathom as how this release was listed under that genre. With the same token, it could have been listed as virtually anything else, on the basis that the same instrument could have been used in many different styles. Period.

Now, don't get me wrong, these soundscapes would provide quite pleasant background music to a romantic, candlelit dinner for two. Maybe Nature movies where glaciers are slowly crumbling to their majestic expiry. Or filler material on Enya albums.

Meandering piano, gentle woodwinds, some vocal noodlings deliver pleasant and inoffensive minimalist pieces that virtually any age group of any musical preference could sleep right though during a Sunday afternoon siesta. But Jazz-Rock/Fusion it ain't.

Honestly, I enjoyed listening to this material while pottering around at home as it took absolutely no toll on my attention to other things.Would I put it on again? Highly unlikely, unless wanting to break the uncomfortable silence when there is little to talk about with visiting in-laws. This piece would put them to sleep and me to comfort, so maybe I'll keep it after all...

Again, it's pleasant enough, but hardly essential as one can hear zillions of the likes any day on Radio, or TV, performed by faceless hired hands. I'd rather FINISTERE, any day.

What can I say - this is one of the most satisfying albums I have laid my hands on in the past few years. There is one very important (albeit subjective) test that this album passes cum laude: being stimulating without being irritating. Takes a lot of subtlety and refined taste to achieve this. It's like carrying something very fragile and precious in your hand: squeeze it a little harder than absolutely necessary to maintain the grip, and you crush it; loosen your hand just a little more than you should, and it drops and shatters into pieces.

I am especially impressed by the way Jaga Jazzist have evolved

Jaga Jazzist are enlisted here as a jazz-rock fusion band. I think the 'Live With Britten Sinfonia' has shown, once again, that they are quite capable of, and interested in playing any kind of serious music. I'd classify this album as modern classic to avoid splitting hair as to whether the 'Live With Britten Sinfonia' is symphonic, progressive, experimental, eclectic jazz or whatever. Shall I call them the Super Fusion of Everything band of the 21 Century?

Five stars without reservation.